Subaru BRZ Enthusiast Drive Videos

[scotto]

Subaru has created some new videos of the Subaru BRZ based around two enthusiasts who were selected to drive the car for a day, and then share their experiences.

Here are two Preview Videos, one for each of the Enthusiasts who happily got to drive the Subaru BRZ. A longer video showing more of the Enthusiast Drive Day will be released soon! Check it out!

Subaru BRZ Enthusiast Drive Preview #1 - YouTube

Subaru BRZ Enthusiast Drive Preview #1 - YouTube

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[scotto]

Here's the second preview video:

YouTube (Short URL)

YouTube (Short URL)

[scotto]

Fun fact: I am the Enthusiast in the first preview video

I'll post a review soon!

If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer what I can!

[scotto]

Here's a link to some behind the scenes photo's from the Subaru BRZ Enthusiast Photo and Video Shoot:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...6856688&type=3

[scotto]

I, like a lot of fans here, have been following the BRZ since it was foreshadowed by a proof of concept car made by Prodrive and featured on Top Gear years ago! The P2 ( thanks flu1D and Calamity Jesus) just looked like the most fun anyone could ever have in a car! Prodrive was hoping that Subaru would take the bait and build a smaller sports car based on their example. Didn't happen, though perhaps in spirit the collaboration between Toyota and Subaru reflects the potential that Prodrive saw and demonstrated to the world! Then in GT5 driving virtual versions of the concept, and recently the virtual production car ( FR-S ) in the game I was just so impressed with the way the BRZ behaved. It just went where you pointed it with out any drama and was pretty hard to spin out - really stable, and you could out do more powerful cars - so this got me really curious about how the BRZ would drive in real life! When the chance to drive the BRZ came along I went for it

I was even more impressed with the real car OMG it's good. I've never gotten into a car and just gone for it so quickly. The first corner I was like, wow, I felt so connected - the steering is direct, linear, and quick, but not darty - just right! Braking the pedal is firm and intuitive to modulate, again just right. The bulges over the front wheels locate the corners of the car perfectly. They mounted the mirrors a little further back with peak a boo windows which make seeing apexes a breeze. The thigh, lumbar, and shoulder bolstering is excellent, so you don't have to fight to stay planted in the seat while cornering. The pedals are really perfect for heel and toe shifting. The shifter is right by the steering wheel, has nice short throughs, is accurate, and up and down shifts are sweet. The tach has all the info you need right there - rpms, shift light, digital speedo. The car is so stable, in a good way. It just stays planted in transition, over bumps, and whether in banked, flat or off camber corners, it's all good. It's so agile in corners, changing direction into corners feels effortless. The balance is terrific. It's so easy to balance the car in a corner with the throttle. And if you get the back to step out it just comes back in on it's own pretty much. And we were driving w/o the stability turned on! It's pretty much a dream when it comes to handling. The engine has good power, that seems well balanced with the whole driving experience, and the engine revs willingly with very linear delivery. The BRZ is so rewarding to drive, it's like it is hard wired straight into your brain - no interpolation necessary. The BRZ was obviously created by those who love driving for those of us who love it too!

I'm into tuning cars, but I couldn't think of anything I'd want to change after driving the BRZ!

[flu1d]

Originally Posted by scotto

I, like a lot of fans here, have been following the BRZ since it showed up as a prototype by Prodrive on Top Gear years ago!

Uh, If you are talking about the Prodrive P2 I think you are a little off base... Although somebody please correct me if I'm wrong!

[Calamity Jesus]

Originally Posted by flu1d

Uh, If you are talking about the Prodrive P2 I think you are a little off base... Although somebody please correct me if I'm wrong!

Yeah.. he's confused. Prodrive hasn't had anything to do with the BRZ's development.

[scotto]

I'm just saying that Prodrive did build a proof of concept prototype that foreshadowed the BRZ. I'm sure if you saw the video of the P2 that you would wish that Subaru would build a rear drive sports car on a smaller than Impreza platform. Eventually they have, and that was my point. Obviously the two are separate in terms of development and process, but the P2 in my mind was perhaps the inspiration. I'll edit my remarks to be more correct on this, thanks for pointing this out! Thanks for reading my little review. The BRZ is remarkably well thought out and executed, especially for the price!

[industrial]

I can agree that the P2 and the enthusiastic response it generated may have had something to do with the BRZ being here today. I mean, it made Clarkson puke during a full top gear segment dedicated to the P2. All the fan boys here were screaming for it. It probably inspired the 818 too.

Either way, nice review man.

[scotto]

Originally Posted by industrial

I can agree that the P2 and the enthusiastic response it generated may have had something to do with the BRZ being here today. I mean, it made Clarkson puke during a full top gear segment dedicated to the P2. All the fan boys here were screaming for it. It probably inspired the 818 too.

Either way, nice review man.

Thanks Industrial!

I checked out the 818 you referred to by Factory Five?

Great concept! I've thought for some time that a little mid-engine Suby powered car would be a natural running the rear drive wheels off the front transaxle like the 818 will do! Thanks for sharing that reference! That's good news

Glad you liked the little review too! That's a pretty condensed version of the basics of the BRZ. I fell in love with the BRZ. It is so rewarding to drive. That's really the key with this car for me. It doesn't matter if it is the fastest thing ever on wheels. Friends of mine who race have said the cars they've enjoyed the most have been the ones they were able to drive spiritedly on the street as daily drivers.

Case in point: I went and test drove two new BMW 328i's with the new four turbo power - though with the 8 speed auto. BMW has a program that is traveling around the country to different dealers where they donate $10.00 to the USA Olympics for driving one of their cars along with a competitors. One 328 was the 'luxury model' and the other with the 'sportline' option = sport suspension, seats, brakes, tires, wheels, etc. ( btw this sport option is just ~ a $2500.00 option I think which is a value I wish other mfg. could duplicate... ). The Lux model had good power, but the nose dove under braking, the nose lifted quite a bit on acceleration, and the car didn't feel very sporty and it stickered ~ $52k with options. The sportline model has a nice firm suspension, and was much more behaved in corners, transitions etc. more like what I like, and with fewer options came to ~ $41k. But I'll tell you, there was something missing after driving the BRZ. The center of gravity in the 328 is much higher, with more of a roll feeling, due to higher roll centers, though it corners fairly flat. And steering it around some windy roads it took more steering input than I expected to keep it on the desired line. And the brakes though quite good weren't as direct feeling. For me, and just for me, there was about as much difference as there would be between a Camry and the BMW as there is between the BMW and the BRZ with the BRZ being at the tops in handling.

The BMW would be quicker, but just not as fun or rewarding to drive. That's the beauty of the BRZ; how involving, rewarding, and fun it is to drive. It's like the handling is in 3D-HD vs. 480p The BRZ does what you want, vs. being stuck with what other cars are able to do. That's a huge difference!

[scotto]

Originally Posted by flu1d

Uh, If you are talking about the Prodrive P2 I think you are a little off base... Although somebody please correct me if I'm wrong!

It was the P2 I was recalling. The thing I remembered was how much fun it looked, it was a tarmac sports car, based on a smaller chassis (from the Japanese market), and that Prodrive was hoping to sell the concept to Subaru. That part was correct, and as Industrial said the P2 inspired many to at least hope, if not petition Subaru to do something like it. I'm sure a few executives did ponder the possibility, but it was too big a financial risk for Subaru... alone.

Remember when the FT86 project was announced or even just rumored there was all manner of speculation about awd, turbo's, that there might be different versions depending on mfg, etc. At this point this smaller sports car seemed to reflect back to the P2 as nobody knew what the end formula would be. Just that it was going to be small, fun, and have a boxer motor.

The P2's magic was partly dimensional, partly intent, and depended a lot on WRC technology (which my memory was fuzzy on) for it's handling ability. We have seen how well the EVO handled with some of the same technology.

I still can't get over how good the BRZ is! It's really cool that it is delivering magic on very simple, sound, fundamental principles. It didn't hurt that Subaru's benchmarks were the Porsche Cayman for one. We are blessed that Subaru and Toyota worked so hard to make the BRZ this good!

[scotto]

Subaru invited two enthusiasts out to drive the new Subaru BRZ during a photo and video shoot on a great stretch of twisty California road. Here's what they said:

http://youtu.be/KrfRFtiVqNQ

http://youtu.be/KrfRFtiVqNQ

[chanomatik]

Thanks for sharing, Scott! The smiles seem to never fade, whether because of your anticipation of driving, the experience of driving or knowing that you just drove a BRZ! haha

[scotto]

Originally Posted by chanomatik

Thanks for sharing, Scott! The smiles seem to never fade, whether because of your anticipation of driving, the experience of driving or knowing that you just drove a BRZ! haha

Thanks chanomatik! It's hard not to smile around the BRZ The BRZ definitely pushed my 'inner driver Start Button'

[scotto]

Here's the full Enthusiast Test Drive Video! Enjoy

http://youtu.be/KrfRFtiVqNQ

http://youtu.be/KrfRFtiVqNQ

[scotto]

What do you guys think about the full video? ( The one in the post just above.. )

[FLEX'N WRX]

Watching and listening through the turn at the 2:30min mark, I didn't realize how much of a hair pin turn it was until the turn was complete. Control is great.

Any negatives from your perspective?

[Subisurfer]

I liked the video scotto! That car looks awesome! Sounds like it is an absolute dream to drive. Might just have to make that my next toy.

Nice review by the way. Do you plan on getting one?

[scotto]

Originally Posted by FLEX'N WRX

Watching and listening through the turn at the 2:30min mark, I didn't realize how much of a hair pin turn it was until the turn was complete. Control is great.

Any negatives from your perspective?

Hairpin, that was a fun little corner, it's a downhill sweeper 3rd - 2nd, turn in, and get on the gas, the back of the car would step out just a little, and then naturally gather itself back up again. It was so fun, I couldn't resist every time around it! The BRZ lends itself to playing, as I said in the video, there is so much confidence driving it, and pushing it that little extra won't bite you, it will reward you!

Any negatives - great question. I'm pretty picky by nature and notice almost everything. In my first few drives one of the camera guys asked me what I would change about the car if it were mine. Nothing came to mind which says a lot. The first time I drove my '02 WRX I was like this is too soft, the steering isn't sharp, etc, and I've fixed all that. With the BRZ at some point it was like this car was tailor made for me, 'me' being people who love a responsive rewarding fun car!

Now I don't need a back seat, and I love that the rear seats fold and there is quite of bit of space actually - rare for a sports car! The rear seats could be alright for kids, and for quick here and back for your agile friends

There were 2 or 3 times I was hunting for the right gate in the shifter, though Alex never had that issue, I chalked that up to over-excited pilot error on my part. I've seen one other review where something similar was mentioned in all the reviews I've seen. I'm not concerned at all though - I think it was me, and a little bit of calm adjustment time would sort that right out.

Even the stock tires give you about .92g of grip, about as much grip as stickier tires allow on my WRX. The beauty of this is that you can slide them a bit more easily, and yet still have decently good grip = fun.

The wheel size is actually smart for a car of more modest torque. Everything about this car seems to have been well thought and sorted out.

Originally Posted by Subisurfer

I liked the video scotto! That car looks awesome! Sounds like it is an absolute dream to drive. Might just have to make that my next toy.

Nice review by the way. Do you plan on getting one?

Glad you liked the video and review! I know, it's a Subaru, and it looks great! More than beauty it's a car that you could be proud to own - it's really a fine sports car at an affordable price! I do plan on getting one as soon as my finances turn around and stabilize a bit. If I had one of these I'd be heading to canyons, tracks, and searching out twisty scenic road-trips - a lot!

[scotto]

Here's a little review I wrote over at Road and Track for the BRZ:

http://yourturn.roadandtrack.com/reviews/37

[scotto]

Here are some behind the scenes pics from the photo/video shoot of the new BRZ:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...6856688&type=3

[scotto]

Here are some behind the scenes pics from the Subaru BRZ photo/video shoot:


https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...6856688&type=3